Marijuana is something that people often associate with music, from the long-haired hippies of the 60s to the rappers of today rhyming about “the chronic”. But some people may be surprised at just how many musicians swear by it as part of their creative process.

There’s no getting away from it; the green stuff is everywhere, and there is real momentum gathering for it to spread further. Washington and Colorado have now fully legalized it and the likes of Snoop Dogg and Willie Nelson are unashamed campaigners for the cause. (As they should be, we might add).

There’s even a great website today called Marijuana Majority who are keeping a log of all the supportive statements they can find on the matter from public figures. Now that’s a great site.

Alanis Morissette

“As an artist, there’s a sweet jump-starting quality to marijuana for me,” she told High Times Magazine. “I’ve often felt telepathic and receptive to inexplicable messages my whole life. I can stave those off when I’m not high. When I’m high – well, they come in and there’s less of a veil, so to speak. So if ever I need some clarity… or a quantum leap in terms of writing something, it’s a quick way for me to get to it.”

Certainly beats a “Jagged Little Pill”!

Sting

“For too long, the War on Drugs has been a sacrosanct undertaking that was virtually immune from criticism in the public realm,” said Sting in the Huffington Post. “Any activist who spoke up was dismissed as a fringe element.”

It’s nice to know that a man who wrote music a long-way off the “fringe element” can be so engaged with the issue today.

Tony Bennett

“I’d like to have every gentleman and lady in this room commit themselves to get our government to legalize drugs,” Bennett said somewhat controversially in the wake of the death of Whitney Houston from a drugs overdose. “So they have to get it through a doctor, not just some gangsters that sell it under the table.”

Although Bennett is an old crooner, he’s had many struggles with drug addiction down the years, so he knows first hand the potential dark side of unregulated narcotics.

Melissa Etheridge

“As a cancer survivor, I know the ravages of a serious illness, and patients who are suffering deserve access to a medication that can provide them relief,” was Melissa’s take on New York’s Compassionate Care Act.

She was also very outspoken in the run up to California’s failed legalization bill in 2010.

Justin Timberlake

“Sometimes I have a brain that needs to be turned off,” he told Playboy magazine. He also said that “absolutely” he was a weed smoker and that he likes to smoke it when he needs to “stop thinking”.

Bet you never thought Justin Timberlake would be mentioned on All Axess. We didn’t either but the opportunity seemed rather fitting. So there you have it. 5 musicians who openly support blazing that you wouldn’t necessarily guess. Well maybe Sting but definitely not the others as much.